As in the United Arab Emirates. You think we have a nursing shortage here. Well, if it wasn’t for expat nurses, their whole healthcare system would cease to function. It is extremely difficult to get local people to enter nursing.

In an interesting, albeit short, article in Arabian business.com, the nurse-less plight of the part of the world is revealed.

Nursing colleges in the UAE are failing to recruit Emirati nurses, despite government-funded sweeteners including full scholarships, the dean of a prominent nursing school has claimed.

Dr Vijaya Kumaradhas, dean of Ras Al Khaimah College of Nursing, one of the country’s largest nursing schools, has said Emirati students remain significantly under-represented – a fact that is contributing to the country’s nursing shortage.

“There is a definite shortage, but Emiratis will not become nurses. There is a stigma where nursing is concerned. In our college, we don’t have any local student.” she said.

The article doesn’t cite reasons for the lack of interest among Emiratis, but several of those who commented offered their perspective. All of them live or lived in the region, so I imagine that they are speaking from experience. Most agree that it is cultural, and that nursing is not considered a desirable career for a young Emirati woman. And in fact, the attitude is prevalent in many Middle Eastern nations.

There are very few nurses who are natives of the region, and there are many reasons why the profession is shunned. One nurse expat working in the region wrote: It entails touching bodies, much intermingling with males, and for some, would mean that they would leave the profession when married anyway. As long as beliefs remain the same, nothing will change and they will be dependent on expats. They have to buck up and see this for themselves. I’ve worked in the Middle East as a nurse for many years and have yet to see reform on this issue.

Another commenter noted that shift work is unappealing, and goes against local custom; most Emiratis wouldn’t want their daughters/wives to work night shifts. It is against traditional values for the lady to be out of the house at such late hours.

As a profession, nursing is not highly regarded, and parents do not encourage their daughters (and certainly not sons!) to study nursing. Pay is low, hours are poor (sound like a familiar scenario?), and nurses are seen as maids, more or less.

So it doesn’t seem that the Emirates are going to be attracting a lot of their own citizens anytime soon, unless they increase the pay, and really make an effort to change the perception of the job. Attracting men into nursing would also help, since that would reduce the intermingling with males.